HQM

This because whatever this discourse even is at this point, the factions have dug themselves layers deep in responses-to-responses-to-responses to each other, and have assigned such a broad space of opinions as belonging either to "proshippers" or "antis" that now, basically any statement posted on the internet can be placed into this dyad, in contradictory ways depending on who the one doing the assignment is.

A friend of mine, @pseudohqm, threw together a small writing challenge for next month, and I think it's really sweet! All are welcome, provided the limited rules within are met. I'm helping moderate for the challenge, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/WormSweetestDay2025/profile

Victims’s “crimes” will be enlarged, and even if they’re small missteps, they will be treated as if only the worst person on the planet would do such a thing

Accusations against the victim will always be a reach, aka, they did ‘this little thing’ but it actually means they’re a racist/murderer/genocide supporter/fascist/have blood on their hands, even when the person’s actions never conformed to those crimes

All and any actions of the victims will be misenterpreted in the worst possible way, anything the person does will be taken as an offense and intentions will be read as hostile and manipulative, regardless of how clear they are

All victim’s actions will be taken out of context; ie, victim said something cruel to someone, but they take out the context of the victim being abused, threatened, tortured, forced into defense mode and finally attacking out of desperation to defend themselves and get free

The victim will commonly get provoked into giving a bad reaction, (anyone gets defensive if they’re accused of the crimes they never did, or simply triggering insults until they snap), and the reaction will become the new ‘proof’ that the victim is in fact, evil and guilty

A lot of pressure will be put on you to react ‘correctly’ to the smear campaign; if you don’t accept to demonize this person at once, you’re getting scrutinized, shamed for your lack of morality, told that you support all these horrid things and that you are just as despicable

You will notice a trend of people ganging together based on their demonization of the victim; they will set a standard where you’re accepted and welcome if only you also will demonize and hate this person, and if you don’t, you’re blocked, cast out, and accused of causing harm

It will feel very easy to accept to demonize this person, and going against it will feel risky, like going against the grain, doubting the word of the many and risking being demonized yourself.

The smear campaign continues all the way until the victim is chased out of the community and denied a voice, even if the victim commits no further crimes, awful things will be said about them, their past 'misdeeds’ continually brought up, until the victim is commonly believed to be worthless, and becomes completely isolated, scared of society and alone

There will be no limit to what is considered okay to do to the victim of a smear campaign; even if the victim is accused of minor bad behaviour, it will become okay to threaten, insult, shout slurs, trigger, provoke, humiliate, manipulate, and repeat any kind of abusive behaviour to the victim, all because 'they’re bad so they deserve it’.

People leading the smear campaign will switch between being 'extremely grossed out and enraged’ to showing absolute joy and satisfaction when they find a new reason to demonize and smear the victim. People truly horrified of someone’s actions do not get a leap of joy when a new disaster happens, they’re not beside themselves to abuse the perpetrator all over again.

It will never, ever be acceptable to show any mercy to the victim. Forgiveness is out of the question, trying to understand them is out of the question. Even reading or listening to what this person is saying will be banned and forbidden, unless it’s for humiliating purposes. They will be shown as absolutely irredeemable, and associating yourself with them as evil and unforgivable. You will be instructed to block or unfollow or report the person based on what you’re told, without any significant proof.

The blog is askblog for a no-powers AU focusing on mental healthcare, for context. Full post under the cut.

It's okay to ship Lisa with people.

Now before you grab your pitchforks, I'd like to put my cards out on the table: I am ace/aro. I realized this partially as a result of exploring sexuality through writing Lisa Wilbourn. Some of the most touching moments in fan fiction have been people who were exploring Lisa's aromantacism and how that affects her relationships (Good People is an excellent fic for that, as is the Wake series by Stardust&Scotch). Writing Lisa as ace/aro is important and valuable, and I love everyone who does it. Even if they do it badly (everyone has to start somewhere, after all.)

(Worth mentioning that I'll be saying ace/aro, and I'm using that as short hand for ace and/or aro.)

But also.... ace/aro people can and do end up in relationships. Sex as an asexual person isn't something that they automatically hate, it's just... different. Aromantic people don't necessarily need to end up alone, just that a "romantic" relationship looks a lot different when one person doesn't have romantic feelings, so to speak. Exploring that is also valuable, in my opinion, and I adore reading stories about Lisa navigating relationships through her unique lens and perspective. Especially when it relates to my own perspectives.

Additionally, this is fan fiction, and people have different reads on the characters lol. If you got through worm and saw Lisa as demi-sexual, that's a fine reading! If you like Lisa as a repressed lesbian, that's also cool! If you think Lisa being straight might be fun to write, I'm all for that! Bisexual Lisa, pansexual, moronsexual, whatever you want, I think that's fine! Because this is fan fiction and people are allowed to mess around and have fun!

As long as Lisa feels like Lisa, I think it's fine to ship her however you want.